A/N: Hey guys, I hope you all like my attempt at a Corazon fanfic with Law. I originally wanted it filled with family fluff, but then Kid got integrated into the plot, then the plot got bigger, then the story got a lot longer and it kept going and going. I had to cut it off at some point so it may feel incomplete. I hesitate that putting Kid in ruined the story, but I tried my best. I'm wondering if I should make an extended version of this to get a better view of the plot because this story just seems like a side POV to another one. Q_Q Well, I hope you enjoy reading this! And early Merry Christmas!

Don't be afraid to leave comments as well! Criticisms are always welcome!

Just Days

"I love you."

Law had always been a strong kid, but when he was clinging to him at the hospital, his tiny hands shaking against his chest and tears bawling down his cheeks, Corazon couldn't help himself. He needed to say those words. He needed Law to know that he was there for him.

The boy looked so scared and hopeless. He kept murmuring things and sobbing that he was going to die, but as long as Corazon was alive, he wasn't going to allow death to lay a single finger on him. Maybe it was because his sister died with the same illness which made Law so scared, or maybe it was because he was simply afraid of dying. Either way, when Corazon lifted his gaze to look at him, he was scared out of his mind of losing something so precious in his life.

He swore he would protect him. He would do anything to get Law to smile again, but they still had to find a cure. The doctors promised they were coming to a solution soon, and Corazon had to rely on their word. It was only a matter of how long they could wait before Law got better.

So for the time being, Corazon lifted Law's face to look at him and he gave him a broad, goofy grin. Smile! Everything's going to be alright. Everything's just going to be real fine.

Law's big, round eyes gawked at him confused, but his teeth stopped chattering. Corazon felt the tiny hands steady, and he smiled. A real genuine smile that didn't show his teeth softened the silly grin. His mouth was closed but still stretched to reach his eyes. He wrapped his hand behind the boy's head and brought him to his chest. Law was so tiny, and he could feel his little nose twitch when he sniffled. Corazon's chest rose as he let out a deep breath.

One day, they were going to get out of this hospital. This was a promise. Instead of sitting next to Law on his dark hospital bed and cradling him like this, they would be going to the park. They would walk under the bright sun with the warm summer wind against their faces and eating ice cream. Law's favorite was mint, right? Or was that his? He remembered the nurse scolding him when he tried to bring Law chocolate chip mint ice cream one time, but oh well. He'd just let Law decide the flavor for himself when they ask the ice cream man.

The small hitched breathing in the room finally stopped. Under his bangs, Corazon's eyes shifted and looked at the breathing bundle in his arms. Law finally fell asleep; his expression was now calm, but the trail of tears on his cheeks were still there. Corazon ran his thumb to wipe them away.

One day, Law. One day, this would all be just a dream.

And it felt that way. When the doctors finally figured out a way to stop Law's illness, it was like they could finally get past through this nightmare. It took a few months for Law to be released, but when it finally happened, Corazon was humming happily as he pushed the wheelchair the boy was sitting on out of the hospital. The bright light of the sun was already greeting them as it glowed through the exit door at the end of the hallway.

Corazon stopped in front of the sidewalk where a car was already parked out front, and he set out to open the door. One of his friends was driving the car, and he was eternally grateful for them doing him this favor. He reached inside to clear the back seat pushing some of the clutter to one side when a hand tugged the back of his shirt. Corazon turned around questioningly knowing that it was Law.

The boy looked at him with his childish eyes again, his mouth tight and quiet. The blonde's face softened noticing the dark bags already appearing early under his eyes at such a young age. He opened his lips to ask what was wrong when Law cut him off.

"I love you, too."

Corazon just stood there frozen. He was thankful that his mouth wasn't gaping open like a fish. Law stared back at him patiently, his mouth meekly bending into a thin line. This had got to be the happiest moment in Corazon's life.

With a big smile, he scooped the boy into his arms.

"Let's go home, Law."

The boy's arms suddenly flung in the air and wrapped around his neck. Was he crying again? He didn't like it when Law cried. Maybe he'd take him out for some ice cream like he promised inside his head.

It was only a few years that Law had been incarcerated in the hospital. It was only a short time that the illness had taken away from him, but for Law, it was most of his life. The boy was still young, and the only thing he knew were doctors prodding him every other morning, and nurses occasionally asking him if he was okay. So, as was his duty, or at least he made it his duty, Corazon was intent on showing Law everything else about the world. Even if it was starting with something small as going to the store to get him ice cream, Corazon was going to get him the best damn flavor from the finest store in the city.

Since Zeff was out of town and wouldn't be back for a while, Corazon had to fill out their schedule with other things before he could let Law taste the best ice cream.

He took him to amusement parks and they often took long walks in the park to fill their time. Unable to have left his bed during the majority of his stay in the hospital, Law felt liberated going on peaceful walks every morning. Although Corazon was worried about the dark circle under his eyes, Law didn't sleep as often as he should have. He liked being awake, and he often got restless when he was in bed for too long so early mornings were the best for him. Corazon was sure those circles would stay with him forever though.

Corazon also took him to the beach to see the shore. He took him to the highest cliff to watch the rising sun as well as the sunset. They were able to find an old man selling ice cream on the streets, and yes, Corazon was right. Law had ordered the mint chocolate chip. (It was okay for them to order the man's ice cream since Zeff had come back a week ago and gave Law a taste of his fine culinary skills. It got a smiling Law so the peg leg cook still retained his status as a five star chef with a Corazon approved thumbs up as a bonus.)

Mulling over all the things they did together, he would say that the trips to the beach were the best. That is, until Corazon got the bright idea to have Law try and feed the birds. He gave the kid a piece of bread, and prompted him to tear a piece of the bread and throw it at a group of pigeons. It was really cute to see Law's face light up at how many birds were coming to flock for his food, but then after a while, there became too much. Without enough food to go around, the birds began attacking the small boy for more. Corazon was horrified to see Law running across the sand screaming. He had never felt so bad for such a dumb idea. Law refused to talk to him in the car ride home, and he had a hunch that this was the reason why Law sneered at the mere sight of bread. That is to say, they would never have bread in the house again.

Corazon would try to apologize, but such traumatizing things could never be undone.

Law's favorite place was to go to the museum and look at art. He was fascinated by realism and naturalistic art, and took a liking to Rembrandt. He didn't like abstract art all that much, but he put up with looking through the displays when Corazon wanted to stay. Other than museums, Law liked the library and enjoyed the silence of a good book. There was a particularly huge library near their house with a hefty collection of many kinds of books, some even in foreign languages, and they went there often since the distance was so convenient. When Corazon would let Law roam and scavenge a book for his own, the boy would take the biggest books he could find the size of encyclopedias then sit on one of the cushioned chairs to set it open on his lap. He would sit for hours with intense concentration, and Corazon would let him. He would just be happy seeing the boy find something he liked. Secretly, Corazon would sneak in a picture or two with his phone and save it as his background. If Law ever found out, the boy would smack him and order him to delete it so he never uttered a word about his secret collection. Most of them were candid pictures of Law smiling.

Since they came to the library so often, the female librarian had started to recognize them. She was an old woman, but she gave a very warm smile whenever she saw them.

"Are you back with your son again?" she asked after they had started becoming regulars every Saturday to return their books and check out new ones. Corazon blinked at her not expecting the question.

"Um…" he didn't know how to answer.

The old woman chuckled and looked over her desk to peer at Law who was a little closer to the ground.

"He takes more after his mother, doesn't he?"

Law, who was holding Corazon's hand, wrinkled his brows at her. "Shut up, hag."

The librarian's face utterly dropped, and Corazon, who was just as taken aback, tried to apologize.

"Sorry, sorry!" he quickly tried to mend her shocked face. "But um, I'm not his father. I'm just – I'm taking care of him."

As he said that, Law snagged his hand away from Corazon's and stomped off towards the bookshelves.

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry," the librarian watched as Law stormed off. "I didn't mean to say something offensive."

"It's alright," Corazon rubbed the back of his neck. "We… we really don't look alike. People often mistake me as his father though. It's – I mean, it's okay."

He tried to smile and play it off, but somehow, he just couldn't do that. He couldn't bring his smile to reach as far near his eyes because Corazon knew the truth. He and Law looked nothing alike. While Law had skin like toffee and dark hair, his complexion was pale with fair yellow hair. No one would think that the young boy would be related to him in anyway other than maybe with their eye color. Corazon had cerulean filling his irises, but if people jumped to conclusions, then they could think that he had a wife who mixed in her genes with his to form a darker color of grey which made Law's eyes.

Corazon looked at the old woman, then back towards the stairs Law undoubtedly headed towards for the upstairs science section. His lids felt heavy when he spotted the boy's spotted cap bouncing near the staircase.

No, he thought. He could never be Law's father. The boy's real father was dead, his mother was murdered and shot, and his sister had passed away three months ago. Corazon wasn't even family.

"I have to go," he turned to the librarian.

He gave her a wan smile before hurrying to go after a kid who wasn't even his own.

That was the only time the librarian asked anything personal. The next visits they made consisted only of polite greetings and questions during checkouts such as, "Is that all for this week?"

The only times they missed their weekly visits to the library was when the weather was bad.

Sometimes, when the day was raining, the two of them would just stay inside the house. Corazon had a grand piano in the living room, and once, Law asked him to play it. He and Doffy used to take lessons when they were children, but Corazon still remembered how to play most of the songs they were taught. With a mug of hot chocolate in his hands, Law listened to the soft melody of continuous songs the man played for him until he fell asleep.

Corazon would save pictures of the boy sleeping too if it weren't for the fact that he had seen Law with his eyes closed too often already. They used to haunt his dreams even, so he preferred it much better when Law was awake.

He knew Law got restless when he slept. His face would scrunch in pain as if someone was hurting him in his dreams. He'd toss around in his bed sweating until he woke up, then run to Corazon's room shaking. Law never talked about what frightened him so much, and for a while he let the boy sleep in his bed. It would only be this once, he thought. But then it continued on after the second month of his release from the hospital. At the start of the night, the boy would hang himself at the edge of the opposite side of the bed claiming he needed space, but by morning, Corazon would find him clinging to his chest and face buried into his ribcage.

He stroked the back of the boy's head when he woke.

As much as he liked waking up to Law in his arms, something needed to be done.

xxx

It was the week before Christmas Eve, and Corazon was walking around the streets to look at the shops. He had taken Law with him to see his reactions at the shop windows if he liked anything, but as always, Law had a stoic expression on his face. Law never really asked for anything, and Corazon wished he did. It would make Christmas shopping a lot easier, and he hoped the boy knew that if he ever needed anything, Corazon would go to hell and back for him to do it.

The two continued walking by without Corazon's plan reaching success, but that's when he saw something in one of the shop windows that immediately caught his eyes. His feet stopped walking the moment he laid eyes on it, and he stared at the huge, white, and extremely fluffy teddy bear smiling on display. The bear had on a curved smile and wore an orange boiler suit, which was odd, but it still made it look adorable. And if it was one thing Corazon knew, it was that adorable mixed well with adorable, and Law was going to love it.

He looked to his side for confirmation if Law's face had lit up upon seeing the stuffed animal, but to his surprise, there was no boy. Corazon turned around frantically.

Where did Law go? He was just holding his hand a minute ago!

He gritted his teeth, worry starting to overwhelm him. He was just about to go running in search of the small boy when he heard another child yell excitedly to her mother.

"Look, Mommy! It's a bear. I want it for Christmas! Can I have it? Can I?!"

The blonde's legs immediately stopped.

"Hmn, let's see," the mother replied. "Why don't we go into the store and see if there's anything else you like. That bear is a little too big, but if there isn't anything else you like, maybe we'll get it."

"Yay! Let's go!"

Corazon listened to the child's laughter. In the corner of his eyes, he saw the mother lead her child in to the store where he had seen the bear, and his eyes bulged. Hold on! That was for Law!

His mind was conflicted with going off and finding Law as soon as possible in case something had happened to him, but that meant he would lose the opportunity to buy the boy the perfect Christmas gift. Through the windows, he could see the little girl run around in the store and stop at the display. Smiling, she pointed at the white bear and asked a question to a man who appeared to be the storeowner.

Law could be wearing that smile, he thought. He apologized to Law in his head and promised him that he would come looking for him as soon as he got that bear.

It was the right decision, even if he had to ask the little girl her permission to give up on getting it. She pouted a bit, but was kind enough to let it go. She patted his head after hearing that he was getting it for somebody important, and wished him luck. Little children seemed to like doing that to him. Law did that all the time, but it felt nice and warm when he did it.

When Law opened his present that Christmas Eve, it was the one of the rare times he saw Law's eyes widen in happiness and awe. He looked at Corazon with a slight blush on his face and smiled.

Yup, adorable mixed well with adorable. Law looked so happy hugging the stuffed bear which he named quickly afterwards as "Bepo." Law stopped having nightmares after that day, and Bepo did a fine job in keeping the boy warm in his own room during the night. Although Corazon would miss having Law in his bed, he felt that it would be better for the boy to be in his own room.

Ah… He did enjoy watching Law grow. He grew up so fast too.

It was about seven months after Law's illness that Corazon decided Law needed to go to school. He was already behind as he had been taken out of kindergarten to be admitted to the hospital, and he received no formal education during his absence. But Law was a brilliant kid so the blonde convinced the school to enroll him to the rightful grade he should be for children his age. Thus, Law was inserted into the fourth grade.

At first, Corazon was apprehensive with how Law would settle in with other children. Seeing that the boy had practically grew up in the hospital, it would be difficult to mold in with kids who didn't share the same experience. Law didn't like socializing either and was often quiet, so Corazon's mind couldn't help but be filled with thoughts such as: Would he make friends? How is his first day going to be like? Would he talk back to the teachers? (Because Law had no problem in letting his opinions run free. He was very blunt in that aspect.)

When Law came home, he was very quiet. He went up to his room and stayed there until dinner. He didn't talk that much during the meal, and when Corazon asked about his day, the boy simply said it was okay. He worried that Law may have had a hard time, but he told the blonde not to worry.

Corazon comforted himself that it would all turn out okay.

The days continued on by like this, and Corazon would always anticipate when Law came home. He would look outside to see the boy enter the front gates and walk up the pathway to their house. He looked a little despondent when returning home, but Law would pick up slowly throughout the evening. He would read to Corazon small stories as was required of his homework when the older man prepared dinner, and that was all Corazon would hear about school. Although Corazon would consider this his favorite moment of the day, he still would have liked to hear more of what Law thought about elementary and if he made any friends.

He thought that Law didn't like his teachers and wondered if he considered the idea of school troublesome, so he was surprised when Law gave him the slip to fill out a date he was available for a parent-teacher conference. When he arrived at the date he had written, he was the one that was nervous. His eyes were shifting around taking the image of the school grounds into his mind, and Law sighed telling him to calm down. He sat down across the teacher's desk when they entered the classroom, and he greeted the long haired woman. She seemed nice, and she had kind blue eyes.

"I'm glad I finally get to meet Law's father," she greeted.

Corazon kept rubbing his sweaty palms against the length of his jeans. "Um, actually, I'm just his guardian."

"Oh?" she asked. "Well, Law had written down 'dad' on one of the assignments we had during class." She reached into a pile of folders that had the names of all her students and took out the one labeled with Law's name on it. "Here," she handed him a paper she slipped out. It was a color pencil drawing titled, "My family."

He took the assignment in his hands and studied the three figures. The two smaller people were standing while a bigger figure was drawn as if he had tripped. To the left was a girl labeled "sister," while on the middle was Law himself labeled as "me" in elegant children scrawl. To the most left where the biggest figure was drawn was labeled, as the teacher had said, "dad" with the abbreviation "Cora-san."

Corazon stared at the picture with his heart almost dropping. He turned his head towards Law who was sitting next to him with a pout on his face and arms crossed. He was trying his best to avoid the man's gaze, but the intensity to which he looked Law with was too strong. Law shifted a glance back at him, but quickly averted them again.

Can he cry right now? Please? Because he felt so happy that he could.

"So, Law's father, right?" The teacher tilted her head and smiled. "That's you with the hat and collared shirt printed with hearts."

He drew his attention back to her and answered, "Yes."

He was that guy whose legs were in the air and face on the ground.

After that conference (and asking to keep the picture to be put in a box so he could keep it forever), Corazon's worry slowly faded. The teacher had told him that Law was indeed doing well and that he was always hitting the best grades in class. He had made close friends too with a few boys, and she assured them that they were the sweetest of children.

Every now and then when Corazon would look outside the window to see Law coming home, he would see him with his friends that the teacher told him about. Their names were Shachi and Penguin, if he remembered correctly. They looked like nice kids, and both of them liked to wear hats. He didn't like that he couldn't see their faces clearly, but they seemed to make Law smile. He saw the one with the green cap wrap an arm around Law's neck and say something which made all three of them laugh. He felt grateful for those two kids, and urged Law to invite them over sometime.

For group projects and stuff, Shachi and Penguin would come over. He noticed that the redhead was a little louder than the other one. They both greeted him with respect and sometimes brought over gifts from their parents.

"My mom said to give this to you," Penguin said one day. "She's always complaining how we must bother you by coming over all the time."

He gave him salmon which was on sale this season.

"Thanks," he took it gratefully. "Tell your mom that she didn't have to. You guys are always welcome here."

As long as they were friends of Law, his house was always open for them.

Come middle school, Law got a little busier. He would stay after school most of the time or he would visit one of his friend's house. The house started feeling empty, and Corazon quickly got bored being alone by himself. He should start getting a real job instead of working the early shift at the bookstore. There was no need to be back home so early all the time now that Law didn't need him to be.

So, after a few years of taking a break, Corazon returned to his previous occupation before Law was let out of the hospital. He picked up his badge again and went back to patrolling the streets as a police officer.

Officer Rosinante Donquixote. It had quite a ring to it, didn't it?

The dark haired boy who lived with him said otherwise. He didn't like the fact that Corazon would put his life in danger every day. But if it meant that he would keep the streets clean for him, it would make the risk worth it, right?

Although he was able to get back into the job easily, part of him didn't like the fact that it sometimes made him come back home so late.

"Welcome back, Cora-san."

He would hear Law say when he closed the door after his return. An aromatic scent of delicious food would be wafting through the air, and after a tiresome day, he would mindlessly follow the smell into the kitchen where Law was making dinner.

"We're having chicken stew," the boy said as he found him in an apron and stirring the pot. The cutting board and knife were in the sink, and the plates were already set on the table.

Was it this late already? Corazon looked at his watch which told him it was 7:30.

He sighed a little bit as he leaned against the wall watching Law keep at the stove. He promised that it was his turn to cook today since Law already prepared dinner three days in a row this week. Work was really stressing, and it seemed like he couldn't even keep his word. Lazily, he rested his head to the side as he got into contemplative thinking. Was going back to his old job a good idea after all?

Law turned to cast a glance at him over his shoulder as he was staring for too long.

"What?" he asked.

Corazon shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered. "I was just thinking how you'll make a good wife."

"Wife? Don't you mean husband?" Law made a face affronted. "And please burn out your cigarette for dinner, Cora-san. It's bad for your health. Don't you know that you can get lung cancer? You won't be able to chase criminals with a set of wheezing lungs."

The blonde did as he was told and smothered the cancer stick into an ashtray. Bad habits, bad habits. He knew it wasn't a good thing that he had fallen back to consuming cigarettes, but it came with the job. Work as an officer was highly demanding in that it required him to be on his toes all day, and the easiest way Corazon could cope with the stress was through smoking. It was a mindless action, and it was terrible. It was easy to get hooked, and hard to stop doing. The only reason he had stopped a few years ago was because he didn't want Law to inhale the smoke and get even sicker when he was in the hospital.

Guess he was being a crappy example right now, wasn't he? A middle schooler was the one scolding him about his health instead of the other way around.

Law got to setting the rice on the table. "Cora-san! Dinner is ready!" he called.

Corazon came from the living room after taking off his jacket and sat down at the dinner table. The dark haired boy took the opposite seat from him and began to dig in.

Law had certainly gotten taller, Corazon noticed when the boy's arm reached from across the table to get the salt. Before, he used to ask Corazon to pass it to him. When had he grown so much? Was it just a growth spurt? Maybe he had missed that sudden change. Corazon munched on a spoonful of the stew and quickly pulled back.

"Ah! Hot!" he fanned his burned lips with his hand.

Law lifted his eyes at him, and without much fuss, handed Corazon an ice cold drink which he put against his lips.

"Thanks," he said with his mouth pressed against the glass.

The boy let out a tired sigh, but there was a small curl of a smile hiding at the edge of his lips. Corazon smiled back. If Law wasn't here to take care of him, then who would? He began to think again. The boy had been proving himself capable ever since he had begun to leave him to take care of the house alone, and it started to feel as if the boy was taking care of him. It felt… nice. Nice to know, and it was nice to be taken care of.

There wouldn't be anything in the world that could be better than the warmth he was feeling right now. Corazon drew the drink from his face and attempted to eat again. Slowly, this time. He was able to get a bite in, but his head was still thinking. He kept on thinking and thinking, until he finally made a decision. Which was this:

He had gone against death to keep the boy with him, and if any situation does arise in the future, he certainly wouldn't let a person take the kid away from him either. Law was his special something.

But it wasn't as if anyone was going to take Law away from him anytime soon. Who would? He chuckled at himself for being so overprotective.

Which was a mistake.

Because that's when Corazon caught him. It was like a bomb dropped out of the blue.

His heart didn't ebb at the first encounter, but that was because he didn't know. It happened on a day just like any other normal day, except this wasn't like any other day. Because it happened. Which made it horrible. And Corazon should have known that the other kid was bad news.

It occurred when Corazon was just cruising the streets doing his job. It was a slow day so he was bored, and he had to stop at a red light. Waiting for the minute and a half before the light changed back to green, he scanned the streets when a familiar sight caught his attention. Now, Law had just gotten into high school so it was perfectly normal to see the teen downtown where his high school was located. Nothing odd seeing Law in the area where he should be. The school that he attended was a good one too. It had a pretty nice reputation for its academics and was ranked decently in the district. His close friends from elementary school also went there as well so it wouldn't be unusual to see Penguin or Shachi hanging out with him as Corazon saw Law walking down the street. Except the guy walking next to him wasn't Penguin or Shachi. The guy wasn't even wearing a hat which was their trademark so he could see the boy's face clearly.

In fact, this guy wasn't like Law's usual friends at all. Whereas the feeling that he got from Law's friends were a little subdued and gentle, this air he got from this boy was flashy. From his bright red hair, huge muscled body, unkempt uniform, and mischievous grin, he was certainly different.

The first thing that Corazon thought was, 'well, glad that Law's making new friends. High school is definitely introducing him to new types of people.'

He didn't take into account of Law's annoyed face, and actually found it endearing that the redhead had a certain puppy like attitude towards his son. The boy was following Law around grinning at all the dagger like glares he was receiving so he must have liked Law a lot.

Though Corazon had no idea how much that "a lot" extended to.

He couldn't stay to find out as the light turned green, and he stepped on the gas pedal to continue his day. Although, he could've swore he heard a familiar voice scream as he left. "Get away from me, asshole!"

It could've been Law, but he wasn't sure.

Days went on like usual, and Corazon saw no more of this redhead. He did, however, see Penguin and Shachi again. It was another group project that they had to do, something with astronomy or the like.

"Good evening, sir!" Shachi grinned at him with a wave.

It was one of his rest days so Corazon was already home reading the newspaper when the boys arrived after school. Shachi and Penguin were somehow unnaturally chipper this evening, but he didn't ask about it and greeted the boys back.

"We'll just be working in my room," Law told him as he came in from closing the front door.

He nodded from the couch in acknowledgement. "Alright. I'll bring you guys some snacks later. If you want, you guys can stay for dinner as well if you need to," he offered the two boys. "I can make enough curry."

"Thanks, sir," Penguin smiled. "That'll be great."

"Yeah, curry is really great." Shachi couldn't hold in his snicker as he glanced knowingly at Law. Law shot him a glare, and the redhead snorted trying to hold in his laugh. Penguin couldn't help but smile at the secret joke which Corazon didn't get, and both boys ran up the stairs to escape Law's wrath which started oozing from his eyes.

Hmm… Probably shouldn't ask, he thought. Corazon turned to Law who sighed irritably before looking back at his father.

"Thanks," he smiled at him before heading up the stairs himself.

Corazon just shrugged at the teens' silly antics. They were just goofing off like kids do. Corazon leaned back against the couch and continued reading forgetting about what even happened.

After an hour or so, he put down his paper and deemed it around the time that he should be bringing the snacks he promised upstairs. Getting up on his bum, he stood up and headed to the kitchen where he collected together some food and water. Shachi preferred juice so he got a separate glass for him. He headed up the stairs with all the food and drink on a tray, and slowly walked down the hallway careful not to drop anything. The last time he walked too fast, they had to clean grape juice from the carpet.

As Corazon made his way, he stopped when he heard the boys talking. Normally, he would've continued, but they were saying something about curry. If Shachi or Penguin didn't like curry, then he needed to know so he could make something else. He didn't want to impose something on them just because they were being polite. Out of respect for being at someone else's home, he bet neither teen would tell him if they didn't like what he was making for dinner.

Corazon stood silently at the door listening for any hints of complaint.

"So, are we going to have curry?" He could tell it was Penguin, and Shachi who spoke afterwards.

"Pfft. I guess that means you'll have curry for lunch and dinner today, huh?"

"Shut up!" Law growled. "It's not like I told him to share with me!"

"He was offering you his red bean, but then you were like, 'I don't like bread.'" Shachi's voice pitched higher when he tried to mimic his friend. "And like the love-sick puppy he was, he gave you his rice and curry instead all because you forgot to pack lunch. I bet he was starving today during math and English."

Two voices joined in laughter.

"Face it, Law. Kid's head over heels for you. I bet he picked a fight with that guy in P.E. just because he looked at you funny."

"You like him too, don't you?"

Corazon almost dropped the tray right there and then. His fingers fumbled with the shaking tray. His heart was beating so loudly as he thought that the shuffling of the food would have him heard. The heat on his face did nothing to placate the guilt he felt for overhearing such a personal conversation.

Law likes someone? His Law like someone? Who?! Who is this "Kid" person?

He didn't hear much of the continued conversation, and knew he shouldn't be anyways so he knocked on the door telling them that he was here. The voices quieted as he opened the bedroom door and stepped in.

"I brought some snacks," he tried to act as normal as possible. He kept his back straight, but his façade was quickly breaking when he met Law's gaze.

With a red blush exploding across his cheeks, his son who was sitting on the bed refused to look at his eyes.

"Thanks, sir." Penguin broke the awkward tension inside his heart.

Shachi jumped when he saw the cup of juice on the tray and quickly thanked him as well.

"No problem," he turned to the two teens and sat the tray on the small table in the middle of the bedroom. Both boys went ahead to indulge on the snacks, but Law didn't move as he was still trying to avoid meeting eyes with Corazon. Corazon shuffled to his feet not knowing what to say so he just excused himself to leave. "Um, if you guys need anything, tell me. Dinner will be done in two hours."

He was answered with a "Yes, sir." Which was good enough for him so he left.

Still, as he made his way down the stairs, he was left wondering what type of person who Law had a crush on. Something acidic spread in the pit of his stomach realizing that this was the first time he heard Law being interested in anyone. This "Kid" person must be one interesting guy indeed.

The next day, Corazon was able to come home early. It was around 4:30 or so in the afternoon, and he was riding his motorcycle. As he reached the corner of his street, he saw Law standing in front of their house with some boy. He felt something familiar about the bright red hair as if he'd seen the kid before. Corazon pulled back at the corner of the street to hide not wanting to interrupt them and jumped off his bike. For some reason, he felt that he should let the scene unfold and just watch.

"Stop following me!" Law turned around to scold the taller teen. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I just wanted to walk you home," the redhead grinned. "Besides, now I know where you live. You actually live pretty far," he whistled.

Law looked away abashed. "That's why I told you not to come with me. Don't you live at the other side of the city?"

"Was worth it." The redhead said easily. He leaned closer making Law step back and press against the gate. "I got to spend time with you. Considering that you skipped P.E. and I didn't get to see you during lunch, I think I deserved having this time with you."

The muscled teen reached his arms out trapping the smaller boy and drew his face closer. Law didn't move to protest as the distance between them got smaller and smaller within each passing second. Corazon didn't seem to notice their close proximity as a bother and was instead freaking out about his son skipping lunch and P.E. Was Law sick? Was he feeling unwell? Did they have enough medicine in the cabinet? Maybe he wasn't feeding Law enough. Did he need to buy more food? He would definitely cook more food tonight.

Corazon looked back up to the two teens in time to see Law draw his face away.

"I need to get inside," he said weakly.

There was a small pause as the redhead stared at him. Corazon was afraid that the boy would ask to come inside, but instead, he pulled away.

"Alright," the boy brought his arms down. "I'll get going then."

"Ki-" Law opened his mouth to speak, but it was caught in a quick kiss.

"Now, I'll leave!" The redheaded boy laughed as he released Law from his surprise attack. "Thanks, Trafalgar!"

The smaller teen was left in a stunned daze for a few seconds, his face coloring red, until he regained himself. His face contorted with the odd mix of embarrassment and anger. Law made to punch the redheaded teen, but the boy was well on his way running down the street.

"See ya' tomorrow!" the boy yelled over his shoulder.

The kid was booking it down the street towards Corazon, and the blonde straightened his back against the wall he was hiding behind. Within that brief moment the teen passed him, Corazon took a glance at the boy who just took his son's lips. A wild smile was plastered on his face as if he was the happiest soul alive. He watched as the kid continued on pass him and turn to the other street where he disappeared.

Tentatively, Corazon peeked back to their house where Law was still standing. He had been watching the redhead leave as well, and he had that same shine in his eyes that Corazon remembered when he first gave Law Bepo.

Huh. So that Kid was at least Bepo status.

He wondered if that was the "Kid" Shachi and Penguin were talking about.

After that day, neither he nor Law ever discussed the incident. It was a secret that Corazon even witnessed it. He had a hunch that Law's happy mood whenever he returned home was caused by that redhead though. Sometimes, when he got home early enough, he'd see the redhead walk Law home. They seemed to get along really well.

Maybe too well?

Corazon was in the kitchen currently chopping onions for dinner. The rhythmic thumps of the knife against the cutting board filled the silence as he began to put two and two together.

Penguin and Shachi making fun of Law for liking someone…

Law walking home with some guy.

The two of them kissing in front of their house.

Corazon's hand stopped when the too obvious reason popped into his head. The cigarette he was smoking dropped to the table as his mouth hung open.

"ARE THEY DATING?!"

He had to jerk around to see if anyone heard his scream. It was paranoia since no one was in the house, but looking out the window, he saw their neighbor in their backyard looking at him. He stared back with a straight face, then to save his dignity, he just slowly looked away as if nothing happened. He closed his eyes with a click of his tongue and picked up his fallen cigarette.

How could he have missed that? He asked himself how he could be so dense in not connecting the incidents earlier.

Corazon picked up the knife again and returned to cutting the vegetables. His mind was still a little haywire at this newfound conclusion, albeit calmer now.

If Law… If Law was in a relationship – Corazon gulped feeling queasy at the thought – then he would be okay with it. Yes, he would. He slowly made the slices against the green onions just to show how calm he was with this. If he was freaked out at all, then he would be chopping madly. Instead, he was calm, see? Corazon tried recollecting his memory for how the redhead looked like. Since he was wearing the same uniform as Law, he assumed that he went to the same school.

It was weird. He never really thought about such stuff like relationships and how it would come about with his son. Corazon inwardly shrugged.

It didn't really matter who it was, as long as they made each other happy. He would just have to wait patiently for his son to reveal to him that he was in a relationship. Did that mean he had to work on a surprised face since he already knew? Hmm… or he could just say something about it now, but he felt that it wasn't his place to meddle. Sure, he could inquire about it, but then he'd just feel invasive and awkward.

But what if Law's relationship went on without Law ever telling him? Corazon doubted his son would hide that type of thing from him. If he really liked that redhead, then the teen would say something to him. Corazon would only be too happy to gloss over the sappy parts like kissing and all that stuff couples do. Knowing that Law was happy with someone was enough for him.

But what if they did more than kissing?

Corazon's eyes bulged from their sockets.

No, no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

He dropped his knife disturbed, and still, his thoughts were no.

A million times no.

No.

Definitely no.

He would not think about that. Why should he? Law was too young for that! All that adult stuff in the bedroom was never going to happen, not with his Law. Nope. Nuh – uh.

Corazon dug his face into his hands.

This was definitely a problem that needed to be pushed aside and handled for a later date. Right now was still too early. He shook his head ridding himself of such unwanted thoughts and picked his knife once more to continue preparing dinner. Food was the only priority as of this moment.

Xxx

Days at work seemed to be getting rougher. There was a case with some outbursts with street gangs. Those groups seemed to be getting more and more popular and destructive lately. There must have been some disputes between two major groups, but so far, their encounters have only been proven to be troublesome to deal with. No one had died from these attacks which was good, but they also haven't caught anyone.

Corazon was close to arresting a gang member once who tried to jump over a fence after a drive by, but he was able to pull them back down to the ground in time. It turned out to be a kid. He was so confused on whether the boy was associated with the gangs at all, and thought he had made a mistake.

"Let me go!" the boy screamed.

He had medium length hair and freckles; Corazon thought him to be a high school student. He promptly loosened his grip on the teen's shirt, and the boy turned around to glare at him. The blonde gave him a questioning look, but his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. The kid stepped back warily and pressed his back against the metal fence.

"Are you going to arrest me?" he growled.

Corazon was a little taken aback by the hostility. "Well, that depends," he said. "What are you doing here?"

The boy didn't answer.

Suddenly, the kid lurched forward at him. At corner of his eye, Corazon could see the metal glint of a knife being thrust towards his side and he immediately dodged. He grabbed the boy's hand and pushed him to the floor where he pinned him down. With a twist of the boy's arm behind his back, the kid dropped the knife and screamed in pain.

Some part of the blonde felt disappointed that a kid had to be part of some street gang, but his actions confirmed it. The boy had attacked him so he could only assume he was part of the assault that had just happened. Corazon began to tell him his Miranda rights as he searched his pockets for a pair of handcuffs when he was suddenly hit on the head.

"Marco!"

Corazon fell to the floor, his head dizzy with a kick to the temple. He heard the teen say something, and another voice hurriedly told him to get up. Corazon tried to stand, but he was too out of it. By the time he was able to make sense of his surroundings again and regain his legs, the teen and the person who kicked him were gone. The blonde cursed at himself for being so careless. The chief would definitely yell at him for this, and he only hoped that things would be better at home.

Which didn't happen.

Violence with teenagers was a popular thing now, apparently.

The boiling rage spewing inside of the blonde could hardly be contained when he saw Law come back with a bruise on his face.

"What happened?" he stood up immediately when he saw Law walk into the living room as he barely came home.

A purple blotch was flowering darkly at the corner of his mouth. Law glanced at him quietly.

"Nothing. I just got hit by a ball during P.E.," he said flatly.

"That didn't get caused by a simple accident!" Corazon strode over from the couch to get a closer look at the teen's face and saw traces of small scratches near his forehead. He reached his hand to trace the open wounds, but Law turned his head away. A growl made its way out Corazon's throat. "Who did this to you?"

"I told you it was an accident."

"Law!"

The teen tried walking away, but he grabbed his arm. A hiss of pain made Law jerk his arm back, and Corazon quickly let go.

"I -…" Corazon thought he had gripped his arm too tight. Never had he lain a hand against his son. His anger flew to a new level when he saw what was stuck on the teen's backpack as Law turned to look away from him. Without a second's waste, Corazon tore the piece of paper pinned on the bag and crumpled it up. "Law…"

The teen took a glance at him, and his eyes widened when he saw a paper which said "fag" being held tightly in his hand. Corazon tried to control his breathing, but an imminent outburst was going to come any time soon.

"Who did this to you?" His voice was slow as he asked again.

His lips tightened into a straight line waiting for Law to answer. Before he was able to ask one final time, his phone rang. Corazon hesitated to pick it up, but the phone kept ringing. He reached into his jean pocket and snapped it open.

"Hello?"

"Corazon, there's another gun fight in South Avenue! We need you to come over!" The other line was quick to answer.

The blonde stared at the beaten teen in front of him. "Right now?" He didn't want to leave his current conversation unfinished.

"Yes, right now! What's holding you?"

Law took the chance to run up the stairs while he was distracted.

"Law!" he held the phone away from his mouth to call after him. He cursed knowing that his partner at work was waiting for him. There was a gun fight that needed to be stopped, and it was going to happen with or without him. The duty as a police officer tugged at the back of his head, but his responsibility as a father…

"Corazon!" The phone yelled impatiently.

The blonde drew the phone back to his ear. "I'm coming!" he snapped.

Full of regret, Corazon grabbed his jacket hanging on one of the living room chairs and headed out the door.

Xxxx

Every time Corazon wanted to bring the incident up of Law's injuries, something always always interrupted him. That always was called his job and the incessant gang activities. He thought about going to the school to find out the reason behind the bruises, but then he felt that doing so would break Law's trust.

Coming home, Corazon was up to his third pack for the day with so much stress. He was up to ripping his hair out, but then he didn't like the prospect of growing bald by the end of the week. He was riding his motorcycle when he reached the corner of his street. Almost like a repeat of last time, he found Law standing in front of their house with another guy. Instead of a redheaded kid this time, it was some blonde with long shaggy hair. The mess of his hair covered most of his face, and he wore his school blazer open just like the redhead.

Corazon didn't feel like hiding similar to last time so he went ahead and sped through down the street. Passing the two boys, he parked in front of their house kicking the stand of his bike. The hum of his engine died down, and he threw a leg over the seat to get off. He saw the two boys quiet as they saw him walking over, the blonde slightly tensing.

The boy murmured something softly under his breath which prompted Law to frown.

"I told you not to follow me," Law gritted.

"It wasn't my choice either," Corazon could hear the boy now. "You wouldn't let Kid walk you home so he made me do it instead. If you really want me to stop, go bring it up to him. Trust me, I have a lot more important things to do than babysit you."

"I already did," Law sneered. "And it appears that his listening skills are as bad as his ability to keep his mouth quiet."

By the time Corazon took off his helmet and came over, he could see Law crossing his arms with an irritated glare on his face.

"Hey," he spoke. "You boys just coming home?"

Corazon didn't know whether he was glaring the same as Law or not, but there was a visible hesitancy with how the blonde teen was looking at him. Law cast the other boy a glance and almost snuffed.

"Yeah," he answered Corazon. "I'm just getting back. I just need to talk with my friend for a bit, then I'll come inside."

Corazon gave the blonde a long stare before he nodded and went inside. He didn't know what it was, but something told him not to trust that friend.

Xxxx

Was it undutiful for him to worry about his son this much?

Corazon sat in the waiting room of the hospital. A woman had been shot and had to be transported to the ICU because she was trapped inside her burning house. Another street war had ended with a Molotov cocktail being thrown at the innocent woman's house, and the men wouldn't stop until one of the burning bottles had hit her right on the back of her head. She had miraculously survived, but Corazon couldn't stop blaming himself.

If only he had been more focused during the fight rather than being distracted thinking about Law. He had seen that freckled teen again that he had almost arrested hiding behind a car, and he got so riled up that instead of trying to calm down the gang members fighting, he went straight to the teen and pulled him aside. Why did kids do this? Why did they want to be part of gangs and all these idiotic things? He imagined Law being a part of this, and the resulted anger caused him to want to scold the child.

Corazon sighed at his own lack of self-discipline. Such emotions shouldn't be displayed during work. Because he strayed to scold the teen (who disappeared after the skirmish again), he didn't see the other group of men who were bringing the bottles to make the make shift bombs. If only he had ignored the teen, then he would have been able to spot and stop the men in time before they threw the Molatovs.

Did he still deserve his badge after this mistake?

Corazon half moaned and sighed as he raked a heavy hand through his hair. His eyes were bloodshot from waiting and thinking for so long, and the doctors still haven't come out to tell him anything about the condition of the woman. He stood up from his seat feeling the need for a smoke and made to leave the building.

He had almost forgotten how heavy the load of being a police officer felt, and now he got a proper reminder. All of his actions, even the smallest ones, could cost someone's life.

Corazon lit a cigarette as soon as he stepped outside.

"Hey mister,"

"Hm?" Corazon turned around when someone called for him. He stuffed the lighter in his breast pocket as he saw a kid walking up to him.

The boy was thin and was wearing the shortest shorts he had ever seen in addition to his giraffe printed turtleneck. It was a little gross at how much leg he was showing, it bordered inappropriate. Corazon squirmed when the boy got closer. His eyes couldn't help but be drawn to those long, supple legs.

Ahem.

Scratch that last part. It was inappropriate. He should go put on some pants or something.

Although Corazon was a little creeped out by the big round eyes the teen sported under his white horned cap, he went away and asked if the kid needed anything. The boy only grinned which creeped him out further, and instead asked a question of his own.

"Are you a police officer?"

"Um, yes," he pointed to the badge on his jacket. "I am. Did you need any help?"

"No, but you probably do, Officer Rosinante."

Corazon was momentarily taken aback and didn't see it coming when the boy jumped forward. He thought the boy had tripped towards him, but an electrifying pain at his side told him that wasn't the case. He heard the boy laugh as he pulled out knife, the blade twisted like a bull's horn. The curve of the blade tore out a chunk of flesh as a waterfall of blood started pouring out from his body. Despite the horrendous pain, Corazon ignored it and wrapped his arms around the teen to keep him from escaping.

"Let go of me, you ass!" The boy elbowed him on the face.

He managed to slip under Corazon's hold and kicked the man down to the floor. "Next time you try to interfering on another fight, you're dead! And tell Kid if he keeps fighting with us, his boyfriend is next! Okay, daddy?"

Corazon's hands started to get cold. He clenched his teeth as he looked up to see the boy walking away. Was that kid… another gang member?

And what about Kid? What…?

He couldn't really think as more blood started pooling out of his body. He curled up on the concrete floor clutching the hole at his flesh, the warm red liquid slowly seeping into a bigger stain on his clothes.

Why were kids so violent nowadays?

He vaguely remembered that he promised to make dinner today. It was Thursday today, right? The promise of another dinner was broken, and the ideas of using the leftover fish from last night were the last things Corazon thought about before he passed out.

Xxxx

Corazon woke with bright white lights screaming at his groggy senses. His eyes squinted adjusting to the brightness. He blinked a few times feeling like he had been asleep for a long time, and there was a bitter taste in his mouth as if he hadn't brushed for a while.

"Hmn…" he groaned weakly when he tried to move.

A soreness covered his whole body preventing much success. All of his bones felt stiff, and it hurt to even flex a muscle. Corazon closed his eyes trying to figure out why he felt as if he had been asleep for a really long time. Last he remembered, he was in the hospital waiting to receive news for a woman who was in the ICU. He went out for a smoke when no one had come to tell him anything after an hour or so of waiting, then he encountered this kid.

Yeah, some kid called to ask if he was a police officer. Then – shit. Corazon cursed remembering that he was stabbed in the gut. No wonder he was in such miserable pain. Merely knowing that he was injured made him more conscious of his screaming nerves so he tried to divert his attention to something else, but all he could feel was someone holding his hand.

"Cora-san?"

He turned his head towards the familiar voice. A person was there occupying a chair next to his bed. The person looked so weary as if they hadn't slept, deep bags hanging underneath their swollen eyes. Corazon looked away happy to see their face, but sad at the same time to see them wear such an expression. He looked away to escape their boring gaze on him, and instead focused on figuring out his surroundings.

Corazon could tell now that he was lying in a hospital bed. Yes, the IV and the blue curtains circling his bed must have meant that this was the hospital. Corazon couldn't see the nurses or other patients in the room as the curtains were drawn to block everything else out, but he could see the shadows as a nurse walked by with a cart. Opening his eyes, he glanced down at himself to find that he was wearing a hospital gown and was covered with a blanket.

"Cora-san,"

He heard Law's voice shake with relief. He hated hearing him sound like that – as if he was scared that he wasn't going to make it. He tightened his grip on the hand that had been holding his own while he was asleep and smiled.

"Don't worry about this little injury, something so small can't hurt me. I'm fine, see?"

He tried to laugh, but the little vibrations sent a signal of pain to his brain making him flinch. Corazon thought Law would hit him for taking all of this too lightly, and he didn't see it coming when a pair of arms hugged him instead.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Corazon lay frozen, his mind still processing the warm arms that held him. His shoulders relaxed at the nostalgic feeling of this scenario being the other way when Law was little, and he found his arms moving on their own to complete the embrace around the boy who had grown up so much. What used to take only one arm to hold the small child he remembered now took two.

Corazon felt the fingers at his back curl and dig into his shoulders. Law wasn't shaking, but the subtle shallow breaths he felt against his ear told him that teen had been afraid. The blonde felt the slant of his lips die.

I'm not going to die. He wasn't that weak. That's what Law thought, didn't he?

"They'd need to shoot a bullet to kill me." He buried his nose into Law's shoulder hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry if I worried you, but I'm not dead yet."

And he won't be for a long time.

Xxx

Omake

Now that Corazon had experienced near death, he decided that he needed to be braver about his advances to know more about Law's life starting with that boy named Kid. It was always a possibility that he could die today or the next, so he wanted to be as involved as much as he could. He wasn't that confident yet to straightforwardly ask who the boy was even though he already knew, so he went with the next best thing: he asked his son if he knew the complications of a mature relationship.

If this relationship ever blossomed into something serious, then he was sure Law needed proper education about sex. He patted himself on the back for encouragement. These were one of the important things parents needed to discuss with their children about. It was part of developing their growth into adulthood. He read this in a book last week so he guessed it was indeed crucial.

Although this should have been warranted to be done a long time ago, Corazon accepted that he had made mistakes while raising Law. He was a single man after all who was only twenty-three when he took Law in. This is to mean, he was an inexperienced, young dunce at child rearing who should be proud that he got this far. So what if he missed a few things here and there? The boy turned out fine, didn't he?

Taking a deep breath, he told himself that he just needed to get this over with. There was nothing awkward about telling your sixteen year old son about what happens when his inner tiger is awakened by another tiger.

That night after Corazon came home from work, he resolved to give Law the "talk." Needless to say, he experienced for the first time what it felt like to be kicked out of their children's room in a struggle to keep him from saying embarrassing things.

Ah… the struggles of a parent.

Maybe he should try tomorrow.